Ridenbaugh Press/Water Rights

As part of a multi-year effort to identify how much water needs to be set aside to protect the Kissimmee Basin environment, a series of meetings has been scheduled to gather information and input from interested residents and businesses.

Florida law allows for the creation of water reservations, rules that set aside water for protection of fish and wildlife or public health and safety. The South Florida Water Management District Governing Board agreed in June to initiate the rulemaking process as a way to reserve water needed for environmental protection of the Kissimmee River. The reservation is part of the $620 million plan to restore more than 27,000 acres of wetlands along the Central Florida waterway.

Water makes the Kissimmee River Valley home to more than 300 fish and wildlife species.

As Central Florida and its demand for public water supply grows, the water reservation is a necessary tool for protecting the Kissimmee and other surface water systems. Based in sound science, a reservation defines a specific amount of water to set aside for protection of fish and wildlife and ensures that the environment receives the water it needs before more is allocated to other users. A reservation can be revised to fit changing conditions.

To assure that this reservation was developed as accurately as possible, scientific and technical data, methodologies and models have and will receive independent scientific peer review at various stages throughout this effort. Along with the public rule development process, the reservation will undergo additional Governing Board consideration before it can be adopted.

The Kissimmee River Restoration is restoring miles of river and flood plain impacted by channelization in the 1960s. The SFWMD has invested more than $300 million to purchase 105,000 acres needed for the restoration. So far, about 10 miles of the C-38 Canal have been backfilled, restoring flow to 19 miles of the historic Kissimmee River and significantly expanding its floodplain. A third phase of restoration construction underway now will backfill about four miles of the channelized Kissimmee River, also known as the C-38 Canal. The latest phase of the project will restore flow to about eight miles of the historic meandering of the river.

Several species of plants and animals, such as the ring-necked duck, American avocet and black-necked stilt, have returned to the Kissimmee after being absent for more than 40 years. When work is completed in 2012, more than 40 square miles of the river/floodplain ecosystem will be restored, including 43 miles of meandering river channel and 27,000 acres of wetlands. The reservation ensures that progress already made in restoring the Kissimmee River floodplain ecosystem will not be compromised.

Contact Bill Graf SFWMD Orlando Service Center Office: (407) 858-6100, ext. 3837 or Cellular: (407) 908-4764

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is approving the Navajo Nation’s application to administer the underground injection control program for oil and gas-related injection wells.

The UIC program authorizes specific waste streams to be injected, and prescribes operating measures to ensure that underground sources of drinking water are protected. Under the Navajo Nation’s UIC program, the tribe will have authority to issue permits, conduct inspections, participate in enforcement actions, and support the EPA’s annual reporting.

The program will apply to roughly 400 existing oil and gas-related injection wells, known as class II wells, and any future wells located within the exterior boundaries of the formal Navajo Reservation, and on Navajo Nation tribal trust lands and trust allotments in the Eastern Agency – an area of Navajo Indian land located outside the boundaries of the formal reservation.

The EPA determined that the Navajo Nation’s class II UIC program is at least as stringent as the federal program. The Navajo Nation, which assisted the EPA in implementing and enforcing federal regulations on Navajo lands, modeled its program after the EPA’s program.
The Navajo Nation has worked diligently over the past several years to develop an effective program by enacting the Navajo Nation Safe Drinking Water Act—putting into law UIC regulations, and developing the technical, permitting and enforcement capacity to fully implement the injection well program.

The final rule will publish in the Federal Register within the next week. Additional information about this action is available on the EPA’s Web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/groundwater/navajonation

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has agreed to provide a $3 million loan to the Hood River-based Farmers Irrigation District for design and construction of a long-life pipeline to convey water throughout the district and replace the district’s open ditches and antiquated pipes in the Hood River Watershed. The district serves about 1,700 users and covers 5,800 irrigated acres.

Installation of a high-quality pipeline is expected to significantly improve water quality and water availability for fish habitat and irrigators in the area. The open ditches and canals that the district currently uses are exposed to chemical contamination from farm and household runoff, and from airborne pesticide spray drift. In addition, the district’s aging canals – some of which are more than 100 years old – are prone to slope failure, which could cause large amounts of sediment and debris to run off into the Hood River and its tributaries, degrading fish habitat and burying fish spawning grounds.

The $3 million, low-interest loan, offered through DEQ’s Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund, is one of several that DEQ issues each year to communities and entities dealing with water quality improvement issues. Most of the funds from the loan will be used to install pipelines to replace remaining open ditches and canals throughout the district’s collection and distribution system. Most design work for the project has already been completed. An estimated completion date for the project has yet to be determined, as it is dependent on the district obtaining additional funding sources.

Improving water quality in the Hood River Basin is a priority for DEQ. The agency’s Hood River watershed pollution reduction plan (Total Maximum Daily Load) identifies the lowering of temperature and pH (acidity) levels in the watershed. Replacing the ditches with high-quality pipe will eliminate seepage and evaporation and will allow for more water to be returned to Hood River at a critical habitat section of the river; the increased water flow will decrease river temperature and improve habitat.

DEQ Clean Water State Revolving Fund program loans have ranged from $7,000 to $35 million, and DEQ has made loan agreements totaling more than $600 million to borrowers since the program was established in 1990. The program is supported financially from annual grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), loan repayment and state-issued bonds.

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality August 19 Contact: Shanna Olson, Water Quality Program, Pendleton, (541) 278-8681; Mike Kleinsmith, Farmers Irrigation District, Hood River, (541) 386-3115; Brian White, Communications & Outreach, Portland, (503) 229-6044

The Environmental Protection Agency is announcing a rule to clarify that permits are not required for transfers of water from one body of water to another. Such transfers include routing water through tunnels, channels, or natural stream courses for public water supplies, irrigation, power generation, flood control, and environmental restoration.
“EPA’s Water Transfer Rule gives communities greater certainty and makes clear they have the flexibility to protect water quality and promote the public good without going through a new federal permitting process,” said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. “Clean water permits should focus on water pollution, not water movement. EPA is committed to working with our state, tribal, and local partners to reduce environmental impacts associated with transfers and will continue to use all appropriate tools such as standards, best management practices, and watershed plans.”
Thousands of water transfers currently in place across the country are vital to the nation’s water supply and infrastructure systems. Whether a permit is needed under the Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System has been an issue in numerous court cases in recent years.
The final rule defines water transfers as an activity that conveys or connects waters of the United States without subjecting the transferred water to intervening industrial, municipal, or commercial use. Pollutants introduced by the water transfer activity itself to the water being transferred would still require an NPDES permit. Furthermore, this rule does not prevent states or tribes from using their own authorities to address water transfers, including the use of non-NPDES permits.
In 2004, the question of whether NPDES permits were necessary for water transfers went before the U.S. Supreme Court in South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians. The court did not rule directly on the issue, which left unresolved the uncertainty many felt about the need for an NPDES permit. EPA issued an interpretive statement in 2005 explaining that Congress intended water resource-management agencies and other state authorities to oversee water transfers, not the NPDES permitting program. This rulemaking codifies that position.
Over the last several years, EPA has been advancing water quality improvements related to water transfers and other hydrologic modifications through watershed planning and management measures.
For example, last summer EPA issued the National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Hydromodification guidance that provides recommended best management practices for addressing the effects of changes in flow.
The recently released Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters can assist communities as they analyze water quality priorities in their watersheds and identify management measures to reduce causes of impairments.
More information on the rule:   Contact: Shakeba Carter-Jenkins (202) 564-4355 carter-jenkins.shakeba@epa.gov

The Environmental Protection Agency is announcing a rule to clarify that permits are not required for transfers of water from one body of water to another. Such transfers include routing water through tunnels, channels, or natural stream courses for public water supplies, irrigation, power generation, flood control, and environmental restoration.

“EPA’s Water Transfer Rule gives communities greater certainty and makes clear they have the flexibility to protect water quality and promote the public good without going through a new federal permitting process,” said Assistant Administrator for Water Benjamin H. Grumbles. “Clean water permits should focus on water pollution, not water movement. EPA is committed to working with our state, tribal, and local partners to reduce environmental impacts associated with transfers and will continue to use all appropriate tools such as standards, best management practices, and watershed plans.”
Thousands of water transfers currently in place across the country are vital to the nation’s water supply and infrastructure systems. Whether a permit is needed under the Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System has been an issue in numerous court cases in recent years.

The final rule defines water transfers as an activity that conveys or connects waters of the United States without subjecting the transferred water to intervening industrial, municipal, or commercial use. Pollutants introduced by the water transfer activity itself to the water being transferred would still require an NPDES permit. Furthermore, this rule does not prevent states or tribes from using their own authorities to address water transfers, including the use of non-NPDES permits.

In 2004, the question of whether NPDES permits were necessary for water transfers went before the U.S. Supreme Court in South Florida Water Management District v. Miccosukee Tribe of Indians. The court did not rule directly on the issue, which left unresolved the uncertainty many felt about the need for an NPDES permit. EPA issued an interpretive statement in 2005 explaining that Congress intended water resource-management agencies and other state authorities to oversee water transfers, not the NPDES permitting program. This rulemaking codifies that position.

Over the last several years, EPA has been advancing water quality improvements related to water transfers and other hydrologic modifications through watershed planning and management measures.

For example, last summer EPA issued the National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Hydromodification guidance that provides recommended best management practices for addressing the effects of changes in flow.

The recently released Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters can assist communities as they analyze water quality priorities in their watersheds and identify management measures to reduce causes of impairments.
More information on the rule: epa.gov/npdes/agriculture  Contact: Shakeba Carter-Jenkins (202) 564-4355 carter-jenkins.shakeba@epa.gov

State and federal officials on Thursday announced the settlement of the final natural resource damage claims for sites in the Clark Fork River Basin and the governments’ environmental remediation claims for the Upper Clark Fork River. Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, Attorney General Mike McGrath and representatives of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Justice and National Parks Service made the announcement at a press conference at the Civic Center in Butte.
“This means high-paying jobs for a dozen or more years,” Schweitzer said. “This is $168 million for truck drivers and heavy equipment operators, this is money that will stay in the region and roll over on Main Street five or six times.
“It is just one more example where Montana is leading the nation in the new restoration economy.”
The settlement announced Thursday ends 25 years of litigation that began in 1983, when the state sued the Atlantic Richfield Company (Arco) for injuries to the natural resources in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin. The agreement resolves NRD claims for three sites:
? Smelter Hill Uplands– the upland mountains surrounding the city of Anaconda;
? Butte Area One – the alluvial groundwater aquifer and Silver Bow Creek in the city of Butte, and
? Upper Clark Fork River – the floodplain and river between Warm Springs Ponds and Milltown Dam.
The total settlement is $168 million and the state will get $72.5 million to restore the three sites. Of the total:
? $28.1 million is allocated to Butte Area One;
? $13.2 million to the Smelter Hill Uplands, and
? $26.7 million to the Upper Clark Fork River.
In addition, $4.5 million is to reimburse the state for its past technical and litigation costs. And, as part of the settlement, the state is releasing restoration plans for the three sites.
In addition to the $72.5 million, Montana will receive about $95 million for the environmental remediation of the Upper Clark Fork River, which is called for under the EPA Record of Decision. This cleanup will happen over a 12-year period and be led by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality with EPA oversight.
The resolution of the last three NRD claims also frees up millions of dollars from a prior settlement of part of the state’s suit against Arco. In 1999, the state established the $130 million Upper Clark Fork River Basin Restoration Fund, and to date, interest from that fund has financed 74 grant projects worth about $55 million, while the fund balance has grown to about $160 million. With the settlement announced Thursday, the principal and the interest can be used to fund restoration projects to improve the basin’s fish and wildlife habitat and populations, public recreation opportunities and public drinking water supplies
Source: Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer, February 7.

North Dakota Governor John Hoeven tonight will present testimony to the Bureau of Reclamation regarding treatment options for the Northwest Area Water Supply Project. Hoeven’s testimony:
? Emphasizes the importance of the NAWS project
? Highlights the environmental soundness of the project, and the various protections that are already in place and planned for it; and
? Expresses concern that the Bureau of Reclamation must be prepared to immediately fund the preferred alternative selected.
“The science for the project as approved in the Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact is sound, and remains sound,” Hoeven’s testimony says. “Therefore, we respectfully and strongly urge the Bureau of Reclamation to select the so-called ‘No Action Alternative,’ the treatment plan included in the original Environmental Assessment approved by the Bureau and the EPA. The ‘no action alternative’ is a misnomer, because in reality this base-line option represents several enhancements already included in the project as approved by the Department of the Interior in 2001. These enhancements are meant to mitigate the risk of transferring biota or aquatic species across the watershed.”
“The NAWS project is vitally important to North Dakota,” Hoeven said. “If redundant treatment is required, meaning a full treatment plant at the Sakakawea intake, as well as full treatment in Minot, then we need a federal commitment to fund the additional cost now so that no further delay of this water delivery project occurs.”
Source: North Dakota Governor John Hoeven, February 5.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee yesterday approved legislation to implement the federal share of the Platte River recovery implementation plan. The sponsors of the legislation, United States Senators Ben Nelson, Wayne Allard, Ken Salazar and Chuck Hagel, applauded the committee’s action as a major step towards final passage of the bill.
“The Platte River recovery is absolutely critical to improving and maintaining habitat for threatened and endangered species while allowing water use and development along the Platte River. Our legislation will ensure that this plan is able to be fully implemented and we are pushing the Senate to act on it as soon as possible,” said Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson. “With the Committee’s unanimous action, the road is clear for Senate passage of this bill.”
“When a program is developed that protects water users’ rights and creates wildlife habitat protection it is a win-win for every one involved. The Platte River recovery plan does just that,” said Senator Salazar, a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. “The program allows continued water use and development along the Platte that is critical to our farmers, ranchers and local communities and I am proud to support this sound conservation bill.”
“This legislation aims to address one of the most pressing needs in the West, ensuring that the Endangered Species Act does not stop our most precious natural resource from flowing,” said Senator Allard. “I have been an outspoken critic of the Endangered Species Act, but when I see a program designed to work with people to find real solutions I support it. This program is a good step forward in recovering endangered species and still providing the necessary water to meet the demands we face in the Platte River region.”
In late 2006 the Governors of Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming and the Department of Interior signed the final program agreement after working together since 1997 to develop a recovery plan that benefits certain species yet allows continued water use and development along the Platte.
S. 752 – passed out of the committee as HR 1462 – will authorize the Secretary of Interior to proceed with the program and includes $157 million to carry it out. The cost will be shared 50/50 by the states and federal government. Through the program the states will provide benefits for the endangered and threatened species as well as land, water, and scientific monitoring and research to evaluate benefits of the program.
Source: U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, January 31. Contact:?Julie Edwards?202-224-5765

The U.S. House of Representatives approved H.R. 1462, which will fund a recovery program for threatened and endangered species that have significant habitat along the Platte River in Nebraska.
The Platte River Recovery Implementation Program and Pathfinder Modification Authorization Act was sponsored by Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo. Similar legislation, S. 752, sponsored by Sens. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., Ken Salazar, D-Colo., Ben Nelson, D-Neb. and Charles Hagel, R-Neb., is pending in the U.S. Senate.
The legislation would authorize a 13-year recovery program for threatened and endangered species that have a designated habitat in Nebraska. The species include the whooping crane, the least tern, the piping plover, and the pallid sturgeon.
Under the recovery program, land will be obtained and managed to create additional habitat for the affected species and time water releases to meet their needs. Using adaptive management techniques, the program’s effectiveness in species recovery will be evaluated and fine tuned.
On October 10, the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed Udall’s proposal.
The recovery proposal is the outcome of over a decade of negotiations between Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming support the legislation along with multiple water users and several environmental organizations.
The Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, Water and Power Subcommittee held a hearing on S. 752 on April 25, but there has been no further advancement of the legislation on the Senate since the hearing in the spring of 2007.
October 23; Ted Kowalski Phone: (303) 866-3978